Space music?

OKCATHY1 · 04-28-2011, 02:32 AM

I was raised listening to the Star Wars trilogy score by John Williams, and after that I discovered the Star Trek music (mainly the ones composed by the late, great Jerry Goldsmith and, also, James Horner). More recently, I have come to adore Holst's The Planets (the haunting "Neptune, the Mystic" is my favourite).

I was wondering, is there any other space-related orchestral music out there, that I'm not aware of yet? Maybe a tone poem, suite, etc? I've always been fascinated by space and, somehow, music that emulates its vastness and mysterious qualities attracts my liking.

Howard the Duck · 04-28-2011, 07:23 AM

Hawkwind is called "space-rock".

So is Pink Floyd from "A Saucerful of Secrets" until just before "Dark Side".

Chumley · 04-28-2011, 04:37 PM

Jeff Wayne's(former member of ELO) The War Of The Worlds.

clutnuckle · 04-28-2011, 06:37 PM

You may want to move this to classical, as obviously there will be a lot of people linking you 'space rock' bands and not what you've requested.

On topic, it's probably just me, but several of Morton Feldman's slow-moving string suites bring about the feeling of space travel.

Jedey · 04-28-2011, 06:42 PM

Burning Down · 04-28-2011, 06:53 PM

I'm moving this to the classical forum since the original question is asking about orchestral music.

Howard the Duck · 04-29-2011, 03:32 AM

oh if it's classical, there's none better than Holst's The Planets suite

this my fave segment:-

Lisnaholic · 04-29-2011, 09:39 PM

The soundtrack to the movie 2001 is an interesting mix of old and new :
-some avant-garde compositions by Ligeti
-R.Strauss` most famous waltz; The Blue Danube
-Khachaturian`s beautiful, floating Gayane Suite
-the unforgetable snippet of Also Sprach Zarathustra to open the movie

What does a waltz have to do with the vastness of space ? Watch the movie and those old waltzes will take on a new dimension !

starrynight · 05-01-2011, 01:27 PM

Vision of a Starry Night by Alan Hovhaness is a nice piano piece.

~~Jymbot~~ · 05-02-2011, 07:36 PM

Putting a "celestial" title to a piece of classical music is just that and nothing much else.

What your wanting then is cosmic-classical music which tends to suggest a sense of vastness. (And not a friggin' waltz - I dont care if Space Odyssey used it.)

I would definitely suggest anything orchestral by Scriabin.

Others were quick to suggest Krautrock, which doubtless is way of the beam for you.
Still IF you want to venture into proggy/krauty realm a path more easy for a classical guy to take would be Klaus Schultze's "Irrlight" or "X".
Also a quiet proggy one suggestive of open star space is Absolutely Elsewhere "In Search of Ancient Gods".

Also try "Star's End" by David Bedford. All orchestral except for some beautiful electric guitar bits by Mike Oldfield. This however is a dark/violent vision of space.

04-28-2011, 02:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
OKCATHY1 Groupie Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 6	Space music? I was raised listening to the Star Wars trilogy score by John Williams, and after that I discovered the Star Trek music (mainly the ones composed by the late, great Jerry Goldsmith and, also, James Horner). More recently, I have come to adore Holst's The Planets (the haunting "Neptune, the Mystic" is my favourite). I was wondering, is there any other space-related orchestral music out there, that I'm not aware of yet? Maybe a tone poem, suite, etc? I've always been fascinated by space and, somehow, music that emulates its vastness and mysterious qualities attracts my liking. __________________ Links removed by moderator>

04-28-2011, 06:42 PM	#5 (permalink)
Jedey Veritas vos liberabit Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Musicapolis Posts: 477	__________________ My Tunes

04-28-2011, 07:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
Howard the Duck Live by the Sword Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 9,075	Hawkwind is called "space-rock". So is Pink Floyd from "A Saucerful of Secrets" until just before "Dark Side".

04-28-2011, 04:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chumley Music Addict Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 69	Jeff Wayne's(former member of ELO) The War Of The Worlds.

04-28-2011, 06:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
clutnuckle Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: -_-_-_-_~__~-~_-`_`-~_-`-~-~ Posts: 1,276	You may want to move this to classical, as obviously there will be a lot of people linking you 'space rock' bands and not what you've requested. On topic, it's probably just me, but several of Morton Feldman's slow-moving string suites bring about the feeling of space travel.

04-28-2011, 06:53 PM	#6 (permalink)
Burning Down The Music Guru. Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Beyond the Wall Posts: 4,858	I'm moving this to the classical forum since the original question is asking about orchestral music.

04-29-2011, 03:32 AM	#7 (permalink)
Howard the Duck Live by the Sword Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 9,075	oh if it's classical, there's none better than Holst's The Planets suite this my fave segment:-

04-29-2011, 09:39 PM	#8 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	The soundtrack to the movie 2001 is an interesting mix of old and new : -some avant-garde compositions by Ligeti -R.Strauss` most famous waltz; The Blue Danube -Khachaturian`s beautiful, floating Gayane Suite -the unforgetable snippet of Also Sprach Zarathustra to open the movie What does a waltz have to do with the vastness of space ? Watch the movie and those old waltzes will take on a new dimension !

05-01-2011, 01:27 PM	#9 (permalink)
starrynight Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 937	Vision of a Starry Night by Alan Hovhaness is a nice piano piece.

05-02-2011, 07:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
~~Jymbot~~ Account Disabled Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 21	Putting a "celestial" title to a piece of classical music is just that and nothing much else. What your wanting then is cosmic-classical music which tends to suggest a sense of vastness. (And not a friggin' waltz - I dont care if Space Odyssey used it.) I would definitely suggest anything orchestral by Scriabin. Others were quick to suggest Krautrock, which doubtless is way of the beam for you. Still IF you want to venture into proggy/krauty realm a path more easy for a classical guy to take would be Klaus Schultze's "Irrlight" or "X". Also a quiet proggy one suggestive of open star space is Absolutely Elsewhere "In Search of Ancient Gods". Also try "Star's End" by David Bedford. All orchestral except for some beautiful electric guitar bits by Mike Oldfield. This however is a dark/violent vision of space.